repair. There is a Gothic church (dating from 1245). A
convent school of the Ursuline nuns is a prominent feature On
a hill to the south. The trade is almost exclusively confined
to the manufacture and export of the wines of the district.
AHT, a confederacy of twenty-two tribes of North American
Indians of the Wakashan stock. They are settled on the west
Coast of Vancouver, British Columbia. The chief tribes included
are the Nitinaht, Tlaasaht or Makah, Tlaokiwaht or Clahoquaht,
Ahansaht and Ehatishaht. The confederacy numbers some 3500.
AHTENA (``ice people''), the name of an Athapascan tribe of
North American Indians, in the basin of Copper River, Alaska.
See Handbook of American Indians, ed. F. W. Hodge (Washington, 1907).
AHVAZ, a town of Persia, in the province of Arabistan, on
the left bank of the river Karun, 48 m. S. of Shushter, in
31 deg. 18' N., 49 deg. E. It has been identified with the Aginis of
Nearchus, 500 stadia from Susa, and occupies the site of what
was once an extensive and important city. Of this ancient
city vast remains are left, extending several miles along the
bank of the river. Among the most remarkable are the ruins of
a bridge and a citadel, or palace, besides vestiges of canals
and watermills, which tell of former commercial activity.
There are also the ruins of a band, or stone dam of great
strength, which was thrown across the river for the purposes of
irrigation. The band was 1150 yds. in length and had a diameter
of 24 ft. at its base. Remains of massive structure are still
visible, and many single blocks in it measure from 8 to 10 ft. in
thickness. Ahvaz reached the height of its prosperity in the
12th and 13th centuries and is now a collection of wretched
hovels, with a small rectangular fort in a state of ruin,
and an Arab population of about 400. Since the opening of the
Karun to foreign commerce in October 1888, another settlement
called Benderi Nassiri, in compliment to the Shah Nassir
ed din (d. 1896), has been established on a slight elevation
overlooking the river at the point below the rapids where
steamers come to anchor, about one mile below Ahvaz. It has
post and telegraph offices; and agencies of some mercantile
firms, a British vice-consul (since 1904) and a Russian
consular agent (since 1902) are established there. The new
caravan road to Isfahan, opened for traffic in 1900, promised,
if successful, to give Ahvaz greater commercial importance.
AI [Sept. 'Aggai, 'Aggai Gai, Vulg. Hai], a small royal
city of the Canaanites, E. of Bethel. The meaning of the name
may be ``the stone heap''; but it is not necessarily a Hebrew
word. Abraham pitched his tent between Ai and Bethel (Gen.
xii. 8, xiii. 3); but it is chiefly noted for its capture
and destruction by Joshua (vii. 2-4. viii. 1-20). who made
it ``a heap for ever, even a desolation.'' It is mentioned
by Isaiah (x. 28), and also after the captivity (Ezra ii.
28; Neh. vii. 32), but then probably was not more than a
village. In the later Hebrew writings the name sometimes
has a feminine form, Aiath (Is. x. 28), Aija (Neh. xi. 31).
The definite article is usually prefixed to the name in
Hebrew. The site was known, and some scanty ruins still
existed, in the time of Eusebius and Jerome (Onomast., s.v.
'Aggai.) Dr E. Robinson was unable to discover any certain
traces of either name or ruins. He remarks, however (Bib.
Researches, ed. 1856, i. p. 443), that it must have been close
to Bethel on account of Biblical narrative (Josh. viii. 17)
. A little to the south of a village called Deir Diwan, and
one hour's journey south-east from Bethel, is the site of an
ancient place called Khirbet Haiyan indicated by reservoirs
hewn in the rock, excavated tombs and foundations of hewn
stone. This may possibly be the site of Ai; it agrees with
all the intimations as to its position. It has also been
identified with a mound now called Et-Tell (``the heap''),
but though the name of a neighbouring village, Turmus Aya, is
suggestive, it is in the wrong direction from Bethel. In this
view recent authorities, such as G. A. Smith, generally coincide.
See Palestine Exploration Fund Quarterly Statement, 1869, p. 123;
1874, p. 62; 1878, pp. 10, 132, 194, 1881, p. 254. (R. A. S. M.)
AIBONITO, an inland town of the electoral district of
Guayama, Porto Rico, on the highway between San Juan and
Ponce, 25 m. E.N.E. of the latter. It is the capital of
a municipal district of the same name. Pop. (1899) of the
town, 2085; of the district, 8596. The town is about 2200
ft. above sea level, and owing to its cool climate and
freedom from malaria it has been chosen as an acclimatizing
station and sanatorium for foreigners. It is surrounded
by coffee plantations, and tobacco of excellent quality
is raised in the vicinity. The town was considerably
damaged by the great hurricane of the 8th of August 1899.
AICARD, JEAN FRANCOIS VICTOR (1848- ), French poet and
dramatist, was born at Toulon on the 4th of February 1848. His
father, Jean Aicard, was a journalist of some distinction, and
the son early began his career in 1867 with Les Rebellions
et les apaistments (1871); Poemes de Provence (1874), and
La Chanson de l'Enfant (1876), both of which were crowned
by the Academy; Miette et Nore (1880), a Provencal idyll;
Le Livre d'heures de l'amour (1887); Jesus (1896),
&c. Of his plays the most successful was Le Pere Lebonnard
(1890), which was originally produced at the Theatre Libre.
Among his other works are the novels, Le Roi de Camargue
(1890), L'Ame d'un enfant (1898) and Talas (1901),
Benjamine (1906) and La Venus de Milo (1874), an account
of the discovery of the statue from unpublished documents.
AICHINGER, GREGOR (c. 1565-1628), one of the greatest German
composers of the Golden Age. He was organist to the Fugger family
of Augsburg in 1584. In 1599 he went for a two years' visit to
Rome. This was for musical and not for ecclesiastical reasons,
though he had taken orders before his appointment under Fugger.
Proske, in the preface to vol. ii. of his Musica Divina,
calls him a priest of Regensburg, and is inclined to give him
the palm for the devout and ingenuous mastery of his style.
Certainly this impression is fully borne out by the beautiful
and somewhat quaint works included in that great anthology.
AICKIN, FRANCIS (d. 1805), Irish actor, first appeared in
London in 1765 as Dick Amlet in Vanbrugh's The Confederacy
at Drury Lane. He acted there, and at Covent Garden, until
1792. His repertory consisted of over eighty characters,
and among his best parts were the Ghost in Hamlet and
Jaques in As You Like It. His success in impassioned
declamatory roles obtained for him the nickname of ``Tyrant.''
His younger brother James AICHIN (d. 1803) was playing leading
parts in both comedy and tragedy at the Edinburgh theatre,
when he gave offence to his public by his protest against the
discharge of a fellow-actor. He therefore went to London,
and from 1767 to 1800 was a member of the Drury Lane Company
and for some years a deputy manager. He quarrelled with John
Philip Kemble, with whom, in 1792, he fought a bloodless duel.
AIDAN (d. 606), king of the Scottish kingdom of Dalriada,
was the son of Gabran, king of Dalriada, and became king after
the death of his kinsman King Conall, when he was crowned at
Iona by St Columba. He refused to allow his kingdom to remain
in dependence on the Irish Dairiada, but coming into collision
with his southern neighbours he led a large force against
AEthelfrith, king of the Northumbrians, and was defeated
at a place called Daegsanstane, probablv in Liddesdale.
See Bede, Historiae Ecclesiasticae gentis Anglorum,
edited by O'. Plummer (Oxford, 1896); Adamnan, Vita
S. Columbae, edited by J. T. Fowler (Oxford, 1894).
AIDAN, or AEDAN, first bishop of Lindisfarne, a monk
of Hii (Iona), was sent by the abbot Senegi to Northumbria,
at the request of King Oswald, A.D. 634-635. He restored
Christianity, and in accordance with the traditions of Irish
episcopacy chose the island of Lindisfarne, close to the royal
city of Bamborough, as his see. Although he retained the Irish
Easter, his character and energy in missionary work won him
the respect of Honorius and Felix. He survived Oswald, and
died shortly after the murder of his friend Oswine of Deira,
on the 31st of August 651, in the 17th year of his episcopate.
See Bede, Hist. Eccl. (ed. Plummer), iii. 3, 5, 17, 25.
AIDE-DE-CAMP (Fr. for camp-assistant or, perhaps,
field-assistant), an officer of the personal staff of a general,
who acts as his confidential secretary in routine matters. In
Great Britain the office of aide-de-camp to the king is given
as a reward or an honorary distinction. In many foreign armies
the word adjutant is used for an aide-de-camp, and adjutant
general for a royal aide-de-camp. The common abbreviation
for aide-de-camp in the British service is ``A.D.C.,'' and
in the United States ``aid.'' Civil governors, such as the
lord lieutenant of Ireland, have also, as a rule, officers on
their staffs with the title and functions of aides-de-camp.
AIDIN. (1) A vilayet in the S.W. of Asia Minor including
the ancient Lydia, Ionia, Carla and western Lycia. It derives
its name from the Seljuk emir who took Tralles, and is the
richest and most productive province of Asiatic Turkey. The
seat of government is Smyrna. (2) The principal town of the
valley of the Menderes or Maeander, about 70 m. E.S.E. of
Smyrna. It is called also Guzel Hissar from the beauty of
its situation on the lower slopes of Mons Messogis and along
the course of the ancient Eudon. It is the capital of a
sanjak. It was taken by the Seljuks, Aidin and Mentesh,
late in the 13th century, and about 1390, when ruled by Isa
Bey, a descendant of the first-named, acknowledged Ottoman
suzerainty. In the Seljuk period it was a secondary city under
the provincial capital, Tireh (q.v.) In the 17th century it
came under the power of the Karasmans of Manisa and remained
so till about 1820. Aidin is on the Smyrna-Dineir railway, has
large tanneries and sweetmeat manufactories, and exports figs,
cotton and raisins. It was greatly damaged by an earthquake in
1899. On a neighbouring height are to be seen the ruins
of the ancient Tralles (q.v.), the site to which the
name Guzel Hissar was particularly given by the Seljuks.
Aidin is the seat of a British consular agent. As there are
considerable numbers of Greeks, Armenians and Jews among the
inhabitants, there are a Greek cathedral, several churches and
synagogues in addition to the fine Turkish mosques. (D. G. H.)
AIDONE, a town of Sicily, in the province of Caltanisetta.
From the town of Caltanisetta it is 22 m. E.S.E. direct (18
m. S.S.W. of the railway station of Raddusa, which is 41
m. W. of Catania). Pop. (1901) 8548. There are some
interesting churches of the 14th century (see E. Mauceri in
L'Arte, 1906, 17). On the Serra Orlando, a mountain not
far off, are the extensive remains of an unknown city, the
finest in eastern Sicily, but rapidly suffering destruction
from the spread of cultivation and unauthorized excavations.
See P. Orsi in Atti del Congresso di
Scienze Storiche, vol. v 178 Rome, 1904).
AIDS, a term of medieval finance, were part of the
service due to a lord from his men, and appear to have been
based upon the principle that they ought to assist him in
special emergency or need. The occasions for demanding
them and the amount to be demanded would thus be matters of
dispute, while the loose use of the term to denote many
different payments increases the difficulty of the subject.
